Patrizia A. Caraveo | |
|---|---|
 Dr. Patrizia Caraveo | |
| Born | April 8, 1954 Milan, Italy |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Education | University of Milan, 1977 |
| Spouse | Giovanni Bignami |
| Awards | Bruno Rossi Prize of the American Astronomical Society (2007, 2011, 2012), Italian National Presidential Award (2009) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astrophysics |
Patrizia Caraveo (born April 8, 1954, Milan) is an Italian astrophysicist.
Patrizia Caraveo graduated in Physics at the physics department of the University of Milan in 1977. After a period abroad, in 2002 she began working at the Institute of Cosmic Physics in Milan as Director of Research, and is currently Director of the institute. She has worked on several international space missions dedicated to particle physics, starting with the European mission Cos-B. She is currently involved in the European INTEGRAL mission, the NASA Swift mission, [1] the Italian AGILE mission and the NASA Fermi mission, all of which are now in orbit and fully operational.
Her main field of interest is the behavior of neutron stars at different wavelengths. She was among the first to understand the fundamental role of neutron stars in particle physics. [2] After years of efforts to explain the first unidentified pulsar radio emission, she identified the neutron star Geminga. She has developed a multi-wavelength strategy for the identification of galactic gamma-ray sources. She is a member of the International Astronomical Union. [3] Since 1997, Caraveo has worked as an adjunct professor at the University of Pavia. She is married to the physicist Giovanni Bignami. [4]
Her first ten years' research were devoted almost entirely to the analysis and interpretation of data collected from gamma astronomy satellite Cos-B, and the beginning of the study of X-ray astronomy with the analysis of data collected by the Einstein Observatory and EXOSAT. In the following period, her interests widened to include all of multi-wavelength astronomy, especially optical astronomy and interpretation of its results.
Since her thesis work, Caraveo has taken part in the development of multi-wavelength observations that led to the discovery and understanding of the neutron star Geminga. This required the use of multiple optical instruments both on the ground and in space. She has used observations from satellites such as SAS-2, HEAO-1, Cos-B, Einstein, EXOSAT, Ginga, ROSAT, Egret, EUVE, Hubble, Hipparcos, XMM-Newton, and Chandra, in addition to ground-based telescopes such as the Very Large Array. The results of Geminga have opened a new chapter in astrophysics: the study of unidentified gamma-ray sources. This is now one of the main topics of research by several groups around the world.
Her identification of Geminga, the first neutron star to show no radio emissions, has opened the way for a more general study of the phenomenology and number of optical pulsars. Caraveo and her team are dedicated to studying the color, motions, and distances of neutron stars, along with the relationship between neutron stars and young supernova remnants. With the use of parallax with Geminga, Caraveo accomplished the first optical measurement of the distance to an isolated neutron star. The correlation of data from Hipparcos with images from the Hubble Space Telescope to determine the absolute position of the faint optical counterpart of Geminga, was chosen by the European Space Agency as one of the 30 success stories presented at the Ministerial Conference in May 1999 (see ESA BR 147). [5]
Caraveo's continuous improvement to the techniques of analysis of data from the Hubble Space Telescope allowed the measurement of the proper motion of the Crab pulsar and then proper motion and parallax of the pulsar in the constellation of Sails, yielding a result much closer than she had expected. In both cases there was a significant alignment between the direction of the proper motion vector and the X-ray jets revealed by these two neutron stars. This alignment has profound implications for the physics of the explosion of supernovae.
Using the telescope XMM-Newton, Caraveo has contributed to the first direct measurement of the magnetic field of an isolated neutron star, thanks to the discovery of cyclotron absorption lines in the data source 1E1207-59, a neutron star at the center of a supernova with no radio counterpart.
The high sensitivity of XMM-Newton has also resulted in two major findings on Geminga. The star, as it moves with supersonic speed in the interstellar medium, generates a shock wave that produces a train of X-rays. This allows scientists to probe both the density of the interstellar medium and the energy of the accelerated electrons from the source. The result, with Caraveo as first author, was published in Science, on September 5, 2003 (which devoted its cover to XMM-Newton), and has received substantial coverage in the Italian and world press. Observations from Chandra also revealed a tail that follows the pulsar, perfectly aligned with its proper motion. It could be the PWN (pulsar wind nebula) of Geminga. While several other pulsars have comet tails of this type, the combination between the large structures revealed by XMM-Newton and the new data from Chandra is unprecedented.
The data accumulated by XMM-Newton enabled Caraveo to take a significant step in understanding Geminga through studying the spectrum of the source as a function of phase. This suggests that some observations of the star are due to a small hot spot which rotates with the star. The result, with Caraveo as first author, published in Science on July 16, 2004, is of great importance for the understanding of the physics of neutron stars, as the technique developed for Geminga is applicable to other neutron stars.
Geminga is not the only example of a pulsar without radio emission. The satellite Fermi has discovered [6] dozens of others, demonstrating that the predictions made on the basis of the phenomenology of Geminga were fundamentally correct.
Following the publication of the catalog of gamma sources [7] revealed by Fermi, Caraveo coordinated a program centered on the study of unidentified gamma-ray sources. The purpose of the exercise is to find sources with the highest ratio of X-ray to optical emissions, one of the characteristic signs of neutron stars.
In addition to data analysis, Caraveo was responsible for the study and planning of new missions. She was part of the Astronomy Working Group of the European Space Agency and contributed to the study and selection of new missions.
After involvement in the spectrometer of INTEGRAL, Caraveo was part of the group proposing ESA's participation in the James Webb Space Telescope (then the New Generation Space Telescope) In parallel, Caraveo took part in the development of new high-energy astrophysics missions such as the AGILE mission of the Italian Space Agency and the Swift and GLAST missions of NASA, for which she holds the position of Co-Investigator.
Caraveo is also responsible for the contract the Italian Space Agency (ASI) signed for the financing of activities related to astrophysical mission GLAST (now Fermi) of NASA.
Within ASTRONET, Caraveo was co-chair of the panel dedicated to high-energy astrophysics.
Caraveo was vice-coordinator of the panel of Italy's aerospace National Operational Program (NOP).
She is currently responsible for the participation of INAF in the Cherenkov Telescope Array.
Caraveo shared the Bruno Rossi Prize of the American Astronomical Society with colleagues in 2007, 2011, and 2012 for work on the Swift, Fermi, and Agile projects. [8]
She was awarded the Italian National Presidential Prize in 2009 for contributions to the understanding of the issue of high energy neutron stars. [9]
In March 2014 she received the "Outstanding Achievement Award" from Women in Aerospace-Europe. [10]
In June 2014 Thomson Reuters included her in the list of "Highly Cited Researchers" in the discipline "Space Science". [11]
High energy astronomy is the study of astronomical objects that release electromagnetic radiation of highly energetic wavelengths. It includes X-ray astronomy, gamma-ray astronomy, extreme UV astronomy, neutrino astronomy, and studies of cosmic rays. The physical study of these phenomena is referred to as high-energy astrophysics.
A magnetar is a type of neutron star with an extremely powerful magnetic field (∼109 to 1011 T, ∼1013 to 1015 G). The magnetic-field decay powers the emission of high-energy electromagnetic radiation, particularly X-rays and gamma rays.
XMM-Newton, also known as the High Throughput X-ray Spectroscopy Mission and the X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission, is an X-ray space observatory launched by the European Space Agency in December 1999 on an Ariane 5 rocket. It is the second cornerstone mission of ESA's Horizon 2000 programme. Named after physicist and astronomer Sir Isaac Newton, the spacecraft is tasked with investigating interstellar X-ray sources, performing narrow- and broad-range spectroscopy, and performing the first simultaneous imaging of objects in both X-ray and optical wavelengths.
The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, formerly called the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST), is a space observatory being used to perform gamma-ray astronomy observations from low Earth orbit. Its main instrument is the Large Area Telescope (LAT), with which astronomers mostly intend to perform an all-sky survey studying astrophysical and cosmological phenomena such as active galactic nuclei, pulsars, other high-energy sources and dark matter. Another instrument aboard Fermi, the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor, is being used to study gamma-ray bursts and solar flares.
The Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics is a Max Planck Institute, located in Garching, near Munich, Germany. In 1991 the Max Planck Institute for Physics and Astrophysics split up into the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, the Max Planck Institute for Physics and the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics. The Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics was founded as sub-institute in 1963. The scientific activities of the institute are mostly devoted to astrophysics with telescopes orbiting in space. A large amount of the resources are spent for studying black holes in the galaxy and in the remote universe.
Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, previously called the Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Explorer, is a NASA three-telescope space observatory for studying gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and monitoring the afterglow in X-ray, and UV/Visible light at the location of a burst. It was launched on 20 November 2004, aboard a Delta II launch vehicle. Headed by principal investigator Neil Gehrels until his death in February 2017, the mission was developed in a joint partnership between Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and an international consortium from the United States, United Kingdom, and Italy. The mission is operated by Pennsylvania State University as part of NASA's Medium Explorer program (MIDEX).
A pulsar is a highly magnetized rotating neutron star that emits beams of electromagnetic radiation out of its magnetic poles. This radiation can be observed only when a beam of emission is pointing toward Earth, and is responsible for the pulsed appearance of emission. Neutron stars are very dense and have short, regular rotational periods. This produces a very precise interval between pulses that ranges from milliseconds to seconds for an individual pulsar. Pulsars are one of the candidates for the source of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays.
The INTErnational Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL) is a space telescope for observing gamma rays of energies up to 8 MeV. It was launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) into Earth orbit in 2002, and is designed to provide imaging and spectroscopy of cosmic sources. In the MeV energy range, it is the most sensitive gamma ray observatory in space. It is sensitive to higher energy photons than X-ray instruments such as NuSTAR, the Neil Gehrels SWIFT Observatory, XMM-Newton, and lower than other gamma-ray instruments such Fermi and HESS.
Geminga is a gamma ray and x-ray pulsar source thought to be a neutron star approximately 250 parsecs from the Sun in the constellation Gemini.
The Vela Pulsar is a radio, optical, X-ray- and gamma-emitting pulsar associated with the Vela Supernova Remnant in the constellation of Vela. Its parent Type II supernova exploded approximately 11,000–12,300 years ago.
NASA's Education and Public Outreach (E/PO) group at Sonoma State University, founded in 1999, is a provider of educational materials for students, educators, scientists, and the public. Funded by NASA and the United States Department of Education, employees work together to create educational guides, fact sheets, worksheets, posters, games, and informational websites. Most of these educational materials are related to the four major missions that support the group: Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Mission, XMM-Newton, and NuSTAR.
Cornelis A. "Neil" Gehrels was an American astrophysicist specializing in the field of gamma-ray astronomy. He was Chief of the Astroparticle Physics Laboratory at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) from 1995 until his death, and was best known for his work developing the field from early balloon instruments to today's space observatories such as the NASA Swift mission, for which he was the Principal investigator. He was leading the WFIRST wide-field infrared telescope forward toward a launch in the mid-2020s. He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Gamma-ray astronomy is the astronomical observation of gamma rays, the most energetic form of electromagnetic radiation, with photon energies above 100 keV. Radiation below 100 keV is classified as X-rays and is the subject of X-ray astronomy.
PSR J1311–3430 is a pulsar with a spin period of 2.5 milliseconds. It is the first millisecond pulsar found via gamma-ray pulsations. The source was originally identified by the Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope as a bright gamma ray source, but was not recognized as a pulsar until observations with the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope discovered pulsed gamma ray emission. The pulsar has a helium-dominated companion much less massive than itself, and the two are in an orbit with a period of 93.8 minutes. The system is explained by a model where mass from the low mass companion was transferred on to the pulsar, increasing the mass of the pulsar and decreasing its period. These systems are known as Black Widow Pulsars, named after the original such system discovered, PSR B1957+20, and may eventually lead to the companion being completely vaporized. Among systems like these, the orbital period of PSR J1311–3430 is the shortest ever found. Spectroscopic observations of the companion suggest that the mass of the pulsar is 2.7 . Though there is considerable uncertainty in this estimate, the minimum mass for the pulsar that the authors find adequately fits the data is 2.15 , which is still more massive than PSR J1614−2230, the previous record holder for most massive known pulsar.
The Neutron Star Interior Composition ExploreR (NICER) is a NASA telescope on the International Space Station, designed and dedicated to the study of the extraordinary gravitational, electromagnetic, and nuclear physics environments embodied by neutron stars, exploring the exotic states of matter where density and pressure are higher than in atomic nuclei. As part of NASA's Explorer program, NICER enabled rotation-resolved spectroscopy of the thermal and non-thermal emissions of neutron stars in the soft X-ray band with unprecedented sensitivity, probing interior structure, the origins of dynamic phenomena, and the mechanisms that underlie the most powerful cosmic particle accelerators known. NICER achieved these goals by deploying, following the launch, and activation of X-ray timing and spectroscopy instruments. NICER was selected by NASA to proceed to formulation phase in April 2013.
Giovanni Fabrizio Bignami was an Italian physicist. From March 2007 until August 2008, he was Chairman of the Italian Space Agency. Between 2010 and 2014, he was the first Italian to chair the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR), and from 2011 until 2015, he was President of INAF. He was also the chairman of the SKA project. He was married to fellow Italian astrophysicist Patrizia A. Caraveo.
Lynn Cominsky is an American astrophysicist and educator. She is currently the Chair of Astronomy and Physics at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, California, as well as the Project Director for the NASA Education and Public Outreach Group.
Eleonora Troja is an Italian astrophysicist. In 2017 she led the discovery of X-ray emission from the gravitational wave source GW170817.
PSR J0952–0607 is a massive millisecond pulsar in a binary system, located between 3,200–5,700 light-years (970–1,740 pc) away from Earth in the constellation Sextans. It holds the record for being the most massive neutron star known as of 2022, with a mass 2.35±0.17 times as much as the Sun—potentially close to the Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff mass upper limit for neutron stars. The pulsar rotates at a frequency of 707 Hz, making it the second-fastest-spinning pulsar known, and the fastest-spinning pulsar that is located in the Milky Way.
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